The sun on your skin
by wsinclaire
Summary: Set after "Cloak". Tony feels he's losing her and decides to take action.
1. Chapter 1

Rating M for later chapters, but this is just foreplay

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Let me know what you think, if you like, and thank you so much for reading the first chapter.

WS

It had been weeks since Tony's semi-meltdown in the elevator, and he hated to admit it, but things hadn't been the same since.

She'd been distant, and he'd been trying to ignore it.

For the hundredth time that day he glanced across to her desk and wondered if he'd lost her. Not physically lost her, obviously, she was right there, but lost her in a deeper, emotional sense. Shut up, DiNozzo, are you losing your mind? It had been a long day, and really, he should be heading home.

"DiNozzo. David." Gibbs barked at them, and Tony almost jumped out of his skin. Seconds later they stood in front of his desk, arms crossed, both of them, awaiting further instructions.

"Okay," Gibbs said and leant back in his chair. "Now, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but whatever it is, I don't have time for it."

He sounded annoyed, not amused, and Tony winced. Gibbs was no fun when he was annoyed.

"Boss," Tony started, but Gibbs waved him off. "DiNozzo. I don't care. Sort it." And with that he picked up his jacket and left the bullpen.

Tony inhaled deeply in preparation to say something, anything, but like Gibbs', Ziva's hand was up, silencing him in an instant.

"Tony," she said, her eyes firmly transfixed on the ground. "If it is not broken, do not fix it," she announced, and walked back to her desk.

"Not broken, Ziva? Something's clearly broken here. You won't even look at me," he said, and reluctantly her eyes met his. He didn't like what he saw. This Ziva looked...defeated?

"We get the job done, yes? Tony? And that is all that matters," she declared after wetting her lips.

He held her gaze. Neon lights, too harsh on her golden skin, he thinks.

Maybe he hadn't lost her, but he could feel her slipping through his fingers.

"I know you don't think that, Ziva. You're lying," he mumbled, unsure whether she heard him or not, shut down his computer, grabbed his stuff and made his way to the elevator.

He didn't look at her again, and she said nothing else.

After another sleepless night, looking like death warmed up, and looking not much better, Tony sat down behind his desk after releasing a big sigh.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from across the room, and without actually asking, Tony knew what he was asking.

"I got it Boss, I got it," he said without much enthusiasm and ruffled his hair.

"We all got a long weekend coming up, DiNozzo. I suggest you use it. I'm not kidding, I've been there. Sort it out."

"Good morning," Ziva chirped, and Tony felt an incredible urge to slam her into the wall and...God, DiNozzo, seriously?

"Good morning," Gibbs replied, and turned back to Tony. "As I was saying, DiNozzo. Maybe you need to take a time out for a couple of days. Clear your head?"

Tony looked across to her and wondered...

Nine whole hours later he stood up silently and in slow motion, and carefully placed a couple of sheets of paper on her desk.

"What is this? Tony" Ziva pulled them towards her.

"Look, Ziva..."

"Key West?" she read. "Why?" she asked, and he wondered if she had already figured this wasn't a work related item.

He crouched down so he was eye to eye with her, her proximity breathtaking, startling him unsuspectingly, but he looked firmly into her eyes and would not let go.

"These are two reservations to Key West. We leave at 9:45 tomorrow morning, we're back in the office in four days. And all I'm asking is that you consider it," he whispered to her, with every word caressing her eyes, her lips, her golden skin, and even though he expected her to possibly freak out at him, to scratch his eyes out, he found her for the first time maybe ever, openly speechless.

"9:45, Ziva. If you're not there, I'm going without you," he declared, and walked away.

She was out of her chair in a millisecond, clutching the paper to her chest. Her words stopped him before he was even half way to the elevator.

"Tony. This...I mean...why?" She shook her head.

He stood calm and collected in the middle of her storm.

"Because I'm tired of pretending."


	2. Chapter 2

Rating M for later chapters

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Let me know what you think, if you like, and thank you so much for reading.

WS

When he arrived at the airport he felt wired. Too little sleep, too much adrenaline; he had a massive hangover from it all.

Instead of asking her to consider it, he should have just put her on the spot there and then, cornered her. In that way at least he'd know now, and wouldn't have to endure another endless hour of torture. Yes, that's exactly what he should have done. In or out Ziva? Because that's what it was all about, wasn't it. It wasn't about a long overdue heart to heart, it wasn't about some much needed sunshine to replenish some much needed Vitamin D in their bodies, it wasn't about a couple of drinks at Margaritaville, hell, it was about one thing: Are you in or are you out?

Tony had nothing to check in and made his way straight through to departures. He unzipped his bag, took out his laptop and placed it separately on the conveyor belt to be x-rayed. Were his hands shaking, or was he imagining it? Tired. He was just tired.

He had to try very hard not to look for her in the crowds of travellers. To give him something to do he bought coffee and sat down in one of the plastic seats not a million miles from the gate. He took his boarding pass and read through it again. First to Miami, and on to Key West. He fanned himself with it, even though it wasn't hot, and then he saw her. A lone figure sitting on the seat next to the vending machine. She looked ridiculous, he thought, in a straw hat, dark cargo pants and a heavy pair of leather boots. You're gonna get so hot down there, David, he chuckled to himself, but his heart was beating out of his chest.

Slowly, he walked across towards her.

"Nice hat," he said, his throat suddenly dry, croaking.

"Yes," she replied, not lifting her gaze from the book he was reading.

"So...you came," he observed, a nervous laugh. Nervous...the last time a woman made him this nervous was when he had a playdate with Jessica Mansfield when he was five.

"Did you know. Tony. That no frost has ever been recorded in Key West?" she finally asked and finally lifted her gaze and the book.

"Miami and the Keys," Tony read the cover.

"Did you know that its real name is Cayo Hueso which means Bone Key?" she continued. And did you know I could strangle you right now for being so blasé about all this, he thought and sat down.

"Did you know that the Southernmost point of the continental US in in Key West?" Tony came up with the one fact about the island he remembered apart from it being spring break central, a fact he would not be sharing with Ziva. "And it's one of the most photographed spots in the world," he continued.

She put down her book and turned to him. "Actually. Tony. It is not. The actual Southernmost point is in Key West, yes, but...it is on the Naval Base where civilians do not have access," she lectured.

"Damn you, Agent David, you've just ruined a lifetime of memories for me there."

Ziva thought about his statement, and with little to no sympathy, she shrugged.

"Are you...armed?" he asked, and it sounded weirdly out of context.

"Yes. Tony. Why?"

He had at least ten very good reasons to ask her this, his general welfare featuring heavily in all of them considering what he wanted to do to her...with her... God, DiNozzo, really? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"How about your badge?" he asked, his voice higher than anticipated.

"Yes. Tony. I have my badge." She sounded annoyed.

"Because, if we flash our badges, they might let us stand at the actual Southernmost point."

"Good thinking, Tony," Ziva said and continued reading. "Who is Jimmy Buffett?"

"No, Ziva, not like buffet, the food, or Phoebe Buffay from Friends, it's Buffett. Jimmy Buffett. And he's a true legend."

"Cheeseburgers in Paradise?" she mumbled and Tony sighed. He didn't even know where to start with this one.

"Ah, and we should go to the Ernest Hemingway museum, yes?" she asked, and Tony pulled the book out of her hand.

"Ziv-ah!" he whispered and finally she looked at him without distractions.

"People don't go to Key west to do sightseeing."

"But there is a lot to do, yes?"

"Ziva," he quickly cut in before she could babble some more meaningless facts at him. He inched closer to her until his forehead was touching the edge of her ridiculous hat.

"Have you noticed that we're so good at this we don't even realize we're doing it," he whispered into her dark eyes, scanning her face. Her delicious lips were right there, and he could almost taste them.

"Good at what? Tony?" His name sounded like a secret she'd share only with his, and it suddenly was nearly impossible for him to concentrate. He felt dizzy.

"Beating around the bush," he said and wondered if she was familiar with the expression. "Avoiding speaking the truth," he quickly clarified.

"And what is the truth? Tony?" she asked sweetly, her eyes giving her away.

"The truth about what we really want to do when we get there," he whispered without even the faintest hint of sarcasm in his voice, and he could have sworn her eyes flew shut for a moment.

The crackling noise of the tannoy brought them back to reality, and Tony almost fell out of his chair.

They were boarding.

"Any last thoughts, David?" he asked, quickly collecting himself and his things.

She shook her head, and he let her lead the way to the gate, down the jetway. They joined the queue that was staring to build as passengers were getting onto the aircraft.

"Besides. Tony." she turned to him briefly. "If I change my mind, I can always turn around in Miami," she shrugged and faced forward again. Before he could think about it, he had put his foot between her ankles to trip her up, and the next step she took into the cabin sent her flying into the arms of a member of the cabin crew called Kevin, who, taken by complete surprise, almost went over as well.

Tony quickly offered a helping hand, and pulled Ziva back upright by her arm.

"I apologize," he laughed at Kevin. "My wife...so clumsy. Come on, sweet-cheeks, let's get you to your seat."

If looks could kill, he'd have been a dead man.

"Did I mention I was armed? Tony?" she asked once they had strapped themselves into their seats. She gripped his wrist so hard, he winced.

"It was funny. Ziva," he said through gritted teeth.

"It was embarrassing."

"It was funny."

"Embarrassing. Ouch, let go."

"I will get you back," she promised, and he knew he would live in fear for the next four days. She gave him another evil stare, and picked up her book again.

He relaxed against the headrest and took a good look at her. God, he was so glad she was here.

"Ziv-ah," he whispered her name. She looked ridiculous in that hat.

"What?" she put the book in her lap and looked at him. He didn't have an answer,and so they just sat there, looking at each other until the plane pushed back and stared moving towards the runway.

"So. Tony," she spoke, and he felt a severe headrush coming on as she moved her face closer to his.

"What do you want to do when we get to Key West?"

He considered his answer briefly, he could have just kissed her and said nothing at all, but instead, he looked into her eyes and wouldn't let go.

"You, Zivah. Again and again."


	3. Chapter 3

Rating M

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Still foreplay, guys, I'm so sorry :) Let me know what you think, if you like, and thank you so much for reading.

WS

"You checked a bag?" Tony couldn't believe it when she walked towards Baggage Claim rather than straight to the exit.

"Tony. I can not travel with just one carry-on when I do not know what I will need."

"Well, if it's clothes you've packed, you won't be needing those," he said quickly, a throw-away comment that caught her off guard, and there she was standing in front of him in that ridiculous hat, actually blushing. She knew it, too, punched his arm and turned away from him. Tony chuckled.

After collecting her bag, they stood outside the airport waiting for a cab.

Ziva took off her jacket and took a deep breath.

"Tony, this is..."

"Fantastic?" he guessed, and they both looked up into a deep blue sky. The heat was balmy and glorious, and he could already feel himself thawing inside and out.

"Okay, I guess fantastic isn't really in your vocabulary. Positive superlatives are so un-Ziva."

"It is so...nice?" she tried and smiled at him, the warmth of the afternoon flooding her dark eyes and he felt positively mesmerised.

"Just so you know," he told her, "There's only one room." He'd been rehearsing this line in his head all the way from Miami, and he felt relieved now it was out.

Ziva kindly acknowledged it and said; "Okay. You did not know if I was coming."

"I did not," he whispered, but didn't he?

It wasn't a long drive to the hotel, another reason he loved Key West; you could pretty much walk everywhere...unless your partner brought an oversized suitcase, of course.

Ziva spent the ten minutes in the car not shutting up, giving a running commentary on roads and beaches, houses, hotels, bars, and random facts of no particular interest at all. The taxi driver himself seemed impressed or mortified, Tony couldn't decide which, and asked: "So you've been here before then?"

Ziva shook her head. "No. First time."

The driver gave Tony a strange look, and Tony shrugged in return. What was there to say? Memorising maps was clearly another one of her ninja superpowers.

At the hotel they checked in and once in the room, Ziva threw her case onto one of the king-size beds and then let herself flop down next to it.

"Alright, so you two can have that bed, and I guess I'll have this one here," he sat on the one closest to the door and furthest from the TV. He scanned the bedside table for the remote control.

He couldn't even see Ziva lying down behind her suitcase from where he was sitting now.

"Ah. Afternoon television movies, you gotta love 'em," he said, flicking from one channel to the next. She didn't answer, and for a moment he thought she'd gone to sleep.

"Shouldn't you be working on your tan? Tony?" she mocked from the invisible.

"Can't wait to see me without a top on, can you, Ziva?" he asked.

She didn't reply, just took the suitcase off the bed again and pulled it into the bathroom with her.

Ten minutes later she re-appeared and caught him giggling to an episode of "Murder She Wrote", and when he looked at her, he was glad he was already sitting down.

"That's a terribly big suitcase for an...outfit that small," he croaked.

"Do you think I need to put something else on? Tony? I want to sit by the pool."

He stretched his neck. Something was chocking him. She stood in front of him in a bikini, hair brushed out, luckily that ridiculous hat was still on.

"No," he replied without much voice, "It's Key West, a bikini probably counts as dressy."

She flashed him a smile and looked him up and down.

Oh, how quickly the tables could turn when Ziva David was in one of her flirty moods, he thought to himself. Oh, and how well she knew what she was doing to him.

"Are you coming? Tony?" she asked and more than anything did he want to slam her and that ridiculous hat into the door she was about to disappear through and fuck her until she forgot her own name.

"I'll find you," he croaked instead, and as soon as the door had shut behind her, he realized it was him who'd forgotten his name. He stared at the ceiling at shook his head. God, he was in so much trouble.

Once he managed to resurface from that ridiculous wave of insane lust, he stood under the cold shower for twenty minutes, and when he found her by the pool, she was asleep, bathed in evening sunshine.

She was lying on her front, her hand still on her book, the hat was under the sun-lounger, her hair a dark mess of everything he longed for.

He touched her back to check for sunburn, or so he told himself. The truth was, he wanted so badly to touch her. Her skin was hot and glowing, and he could only imagine what she would taste like if he replaced his fingertips with his lips.

Gently he drew small circles on her shoulder blades.

"Hmmmm," she moved slightly, and he pulled his hand away.

"Tony?" she whispered, but didn't shift to look at him.

"No, I'm a creepy pervert who randomly walked over to get his hands on you," he whispered.

She chuckled briefly. "Do not stop."

He knew it was no longer a secret that he couldn't take his eyes off her, but now by allowing him, no, by encouraging him to touch her, she had opened a whole other can of worms, and he wondered if she knew.

"You want to know a secret?" she asked and he felt a hot flush. Yes, he wanted to know all her secrets, and that was only the beginning of his problem, the tip of the iceberg.

She didn't wait for his answer, and he briefly wondered how secret a secret it really was when she was so willing to give it up.

"I can not stop thinking about you," she said quietly and when he didn't answer straight away, she lifted her head and rolled onto her side to look at him.

Her eyes were doing all the talking now, and he had no come-back. No come-back at all.

"Why did you really ask me to come? Tony?" she demanded.

"Because I can't stop thinking about you, either," he confessed quickly, the truth so easily at the tip of his tongue, and she smiled, but still didn't seem satisfied with the answer.

"Ziva, why do you think I asked you to come?" he asked, running his hands through his hair.

"Because I know you have got something to tell me."

He nodded. "And have you come here willing to listen?"

She leant closer and traced his lips with her fingers, her eyes liquid caramel against the setting sun, and he was searching them for his answers. When had the jokes stopped, he wondered suddenly.

She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer and closer yet and buried his face in her hair. Her skin was so hot it nearly burned him, and yet he could not stop touching her, wouldn't let her go.

He closed his eyes and breathed her in.

"Ziva," he whispered and felt her go limp in his arms.

"I need to sleep with you."


	4. Chapter 4

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Thank you so much for reading, let me know what you think, if you like. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I might continue. After all, they are away all weekend...

WS

The door fell shut behind them heavily; the way hotel doors do, that unmistakeable click at the end.

The ridiculous hat was thrown onto a chair.

She stood with her back to him for a second, giving Tony the chance to quickly catch his breath, then turned to look at him with those big brown eyes. Was she thinking? Waiting? Expecting him to do what? Rip that damn bikini off and fuck her brains out? He knew he wanted to.

Sink or swim, Tony thought and wondered if that saying even applied or made sense...

As they stood there, the twilight of a Key West sunset flowing in through the gaps between the blinds, bathing her in a perfect golden glow, there were no words.

Sorry, Ziva, he thought, but this really is it. Door's shut, you're in.

He walked up to her slowly and whispered a silent apology into her eyes, and suddenly something snapped between them. He physically felt it, a sharp stabbing pain in the gut that triggered the most severe head-rush in his living memory.

He crushed his lips against hers, and they were all over each other not half a breath later. The room started spinning and he had to hold on to her shoulders to steady himself for a moment.

She tasted sweet, so sweet, so much sweeter even than he remembered...and remember it he did.

He gently ran his hands down her hot back, barely touching her at all. Electric shock. She had goosebumps all over, and he felt like he was going out of his mind. Is that what I do to you, he wanted to ask, only to see the answer in her face.

He backed her up against the bed and laid her down. Her hair was everywhere, between his hands, in his mouth, he didn't care. He barely registered the little noises she was making, he felt nothing but the sensation of her and his head spinning out of control.

His shirt came off, then the rest. It took no time to undress her, though he couldn't later recall who did it, him or her.

When they kissed again, fully naked this time, he didn't try to stop a painful groan escaping his lips. Sensory overload, he was coming completely undone.

Her legs wrapped around him, and he could have so easily just slid his cock into her. She clung to him, begging him, nails digging into his shoulders painfully, her kiss unspeakable.

"Stop it," he tried to shake her off. "Ziva, Jeez, slow down or this isn't going to end well," he took her face in his hands and looked at her for the first time since they had crossed their line.

Her eyes regained focus, her cheeks were flushed, her lips so wet and inviting he almost lost it.

"Tony," she said quietly, her hands on either side of his face. The intimacy of the moment was so painful he could have wept.

"Ziva," he said her name because it was the sole thought in his head.

She kissed him again, lusciously, fully, hungrily, took his hand and guided him down her chest, past an erect nipple that made him forget to breathe for a moment, further down her stomach, and down.

"Touch me, Tony," she asked of him.

She was hot and wet, and it felt to him like her whole body caught fire suddenly as he started his sweet torture. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't pass out, but she protested. "I want you to look at me. Look at me. Tony."

His vision was blurry at best, but her image, so completely at his mercy by her own request, would haunt his dreams forever more. The sheer thought of her having done this with anybody else ever made him bilious with rage and a kind of jealousy he had never known.

He couldn't stand it, it was all too much, and without giving her much warning, he rolled on top of her and pushed his cock inside her. There was nothing gentle about it, and he didn't feel sorry. She gasped and bit her lip, and with that, his self control vanished for good. He faintly noticed she was trying to fight for dominance for a moment, was trying to flip them around so to be on top, but he was having none of it. He felt her body react to his, and went to kiss her again. She bit his bottom lip hard, and he pulled her hair in return. She winced with pleasure or pain, he didn't know, he didn't care, he needed her, needed to have her, to own her.

He recognized that moment she started to tighten her grip on him, started slowing them down, asking for a deep, and hard rhythm. She mumbled for him not to stop now, to look at her, and when he watched that wave of pleasure shake her body, flush her face, it wasn't a moment too soon. He came long and hard, and then fell onto her and into nothingness.

She was the first one back in the real world, and a soft chuckle pulled him back to her. Then she laughed.

"I make you come and you laugh at me?" he rolled off of her and laid down beside her instead. Her stomach was glistening with sweat and he wanted to lick it off.

"Tony. We should not have waited this long. My head almost...exploded."

"You've got no idea," he laughed in return and looked at her. Her lips were swollen from their kisses, her cheeks were flushed. Somebody pinch me, he thought.

Ziva David, naked, sun-kissed and post orgasm...she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid his eyes on. He brought his fingertips to her lips and she kissed them.

He traced her chin, her neck, her collarbone, her perfect breasts, her stomach where he kissed that last bead of sweat away.

"Tony." she said his name and it sounded different than before.

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking?"

He came back up and kissed her mouth. "I was thinking that I can still taste the sun on your skin."


	5. Chapter 5

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Let me know what you think, if you like. Thank you for reviews, you are incredibly generous, and thank you so much everybody for reading x

If you are unfamiliar with Margaritaville and/or Jimmy Buffett, don't worry too much, but make sure to put it (and Key West!) on your bucket list.

This chapter carries on from exactly where we left them.

WS

She wrapped one leg around him, her arm across his shoulder, her hand in his hair.

She kissed him. Again.

"You know. Tony. I had forgotten how good you...I mean us..."

He felt a cheeky grin spread across his face which told him that he clearly felt flattered, not offended.

"Forgotten?"

He enjoyed watching her wreck her brain for the right words, and he knew that if she didn't find them soon, she'd say nothing at all. He couldn't risk that.

"I thought it was all an act, Ziv-ah. Just the two of us, Jean-Paul and Sophie; and I know how serious you are about these things, you know, your work," he mused.

She chuckled that deep throaty chuckle she usually made when she was up to mischief, or had come up with something to torment him with.

"You knew it was not an act. Tony. That is why you would not look me in the eyes for weeks after. No. Make that months."

"At the moment you're the one who's not looking me in the eyes," he said, recalling their recent non-relationship at work.

"At the moment I am naked in a bed with you."

He looked at her mouth and kissed her swollen lips, his hand caressing her face.

He had forgotten his life.

"Tony," she whispered sweetly.

"What?"

"Can we get dinner?"

He laughed into her hair and rolled onto his back.

"Well, I suppose a trip to Key West calls for a visit to Margaritaville. See it as your induction into...you know...island living."

"Jimmy Buffet? Yes?" she stated, a fact disguised as a question.

"Cheeseburgers in Paradise," Tony sang and she looked alarmed.

"I am having a shower," she told him and rolled over. He protested, pulling her back. She punched him in the arm, Tony winced and had to watch her cute ass disappear into the bathroom.

As soon as he heard her switch on the water, he followed.

She stood under the spray, eyes closed, water running down her face, her body.

"I can hear you. Tony. Get out."

He got in.

"I'm afraid, Agent David, we still have a problem." He pushed his hard cock against her lower back and again she chuckled.

"We? Tony?"

"Yes. It appears that despite of what happened what...twenty minutes ago...I can't get rid of...this." He pulled her closer by her hips. "Which should, by the way, make you even more attracted to me since it clearly demonstrated the excellent physical shape I'm currently in."

"Even more attractive? Tony?" she laughed and he nibbled her ear. "I hate to think how you normally manage."

"Not well, Ziva, not well."

"I can imagine."

"I very much doubt that," he whispered and kissed her neck. He could feel her pulse quickening under his lips.

"I fantasize about you, too. Tony," she told him frankly, and pushed back against him even closer. Her head fell back against his chest, his shoulder, her hands against the clinically white tiles.

His cock twitched as soon as the words had run off her lips, and he reached around her to cup her breasts.

"I want you so much, I think I'm losing it," he mumbled caressing her breasts in the wetness of the hot water, her shivering every time he pinched her hard nipples was about all he could stand.

Slowly this time, he pushed his cock inside of her, pulling her closer and closer against him with each deep thrust.

"Tony. I can not...when I stand up..." she said, but he shushed her.

"Trust me. You can. You will."

Not ten minutes later her little body turned into complete jelly in his arms. She was mumbling nonsense again, words that may or may not have been in English that sent him over the edge instantly.

"I hate you," she told him and coughed after having swallowed a lot of water . "How dare you make me come like that? I never..." She coughed again like she was drowning.

He couldn't help feeling incredibly pleased with himself.

"Maybe you're just easy," he suggested and one second later, she had him pinned against the wall.

"You calling me easy? Tony? Really? You want to go there?" she whispered too close to his ear.

"I can read you like a book, David," he continued, until he felt her knee too close to his groin.

He stopped breathing. This was dangerous territory. He groaned as if in pain already.

"I thought you wanted dinner, sweet-cheeks," he winced and she let go of him.

He switched off the water and passed her a towel.

"But do us both a favour and put some clothes on quickly," he added and slapped her ass. Hard. It made the best noise.

x x x

When they left the hotel half an hour later it was already dark outside, but a wall of heat lay heavily on the island and wrapped itself around them like a blanket. As great as Key West was during the day, it was the nights that made it the place it was. Tony had always wanted to come back here with somebody that mattered.

He looked at her leisurely strolling along beside him, for the first time in the longest time it felt like the weight of the world was no longer resting on her shoulders, and he wondered when she had decided to relax. He also wondered how long he could manage not to say anything about her outfit- long summer skirt, slits all the way up to her thigh on both sides. He often forgot she even had legs with her wearing pants all the time, and he knew the usual denial was simply an involuntary reaction of his brain to the fact that he simply wouldn't be able to handle it otherwise.

He regularly indulged in checking out her ass, his very, very guilty pleasure. However, he very much doubted he'd ever be able to look again now that he'd fucked her from behind in the shower. Should have thought about that before, DiNozzo, he thought and couldn't help pulling a face.

He shook the thought and instead focused on her skirt again; every step she took revealed a naked leg. They hadn't even reached Duval when he said it: "Did you know your skirt is ripped?" He couldn't help himself, could he?

"Ha ha, Tony. You are funny."

"I just wanted to make you aware."

She gave him an evil glare.

"Okay, anyway, so we're taking the next right. It's Duval Street, the main road, and..."

"I know. Tony. Duval Street runs all the way from the Atlantic Ocean behind us to the Gulf of Mexico ahead of us. It is often referred to as the world's longest bar. It is just over one mile long."

"You're a real smart-ass, David. Anyone ever tell you that?" he inquired between half closed eyes.

She laughed a warm laugh that suited the spell of the evening, and quietly they walked next to each other to Margaritaville.

Once inside, the restaurant was exactly the way Tony remembered it. Busy, loud and slightly insane. It was the kind of a place that required inside knowledge in order to enjoy it fully, to get it, and he wondered what Ziva would make of it. He watched her closely.

A very young, very tanned, very blonde, and very well build teenager showed them to their table and brought menus.

Tony hated the way he smiled at Ziva...even though flirting was most definitely in his job description, but that was besides the point, and by the time Blondy had told her all the specials and the ins and outs of the endless Happy Hour, Tony swore Ziva was almost drooling.

"What?" she shrugged at Tony. He only shook his head.

A party of seven sat down at the table next to them, all seven wearing hats that looked like parrots. Ziva wrinkled her forehead and turned to Tony for explanation.

"I...later," he waved her off. It really was too bizarre to get into now, he decided.

He briefly wondered if Ziva David and Jimmy Buffett were polar opposites and whether her visiting his eatery would alter the fate of the universe. You are completely losing it, DiNozzo, he shook his head at himself.

"This place is...interesting," Ziva simply said.

He leant forward and reached for her hand across the table. She let him take it, and he drew small circles on the back. She shivered lightly, and it didn't go unnoticed, but he didn't want to come up with a light-hearted one liner or immature wisecrack. He suddenly had no interest in cheapening things.

"Ziva," he started. "What happens when we get back to..."

"Tony. Stop. No," she said and pulled her hand away in a flash.

"But..."

"No. Tony."

"Ziva," he begged. "You said you're here because you know I've got something to say to you, so listen."

"Tony. What you have to say to me has nothing...nothing to do with the when or the where or the how, so I do not want to talk about it," she told him, and he wondered if she was right. Surely it couldn't be that straight forward.

"Okay. Let's make a deal," he suggested.

"I am listening," she sat up straight, sitting back in her chair, arms crossed in front of her.

"I won't talk about Washington..."

"And in return?" she cut in, mild panic in her oh so steady voice.

He pinned her to the spot with his gaze, couldn't help a flashback of her earlier, the way she had kissed him, the way she had shown him how she liked to be touched, the look in her eyes as she came in his arms, so completely naked and raw.

"And in return, Ziva," he whispered, "I want to know your secrets."


	6. Chapter 6

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Let me know what you think, if you like. Thank you for your reviews, your continuous interest is keeping me on my toes to update regularly.

Most importantly, thank you so much everybody for reading, and I hope you enjoy x

WS

"Here is a secret, Tony," she said later that night when they were making their way back to the hotel slowly. "I am loving this cake on a stick."

"Jeez, Ziva, no one ever tell you not to speak with your mouth full?" he asked. "And it's not cake, it's Key Lime Pie. And I think this is the only place in the world where you get it on a stick." The sheer thought of it made him shiver.

"Hmmmm," she took another bite and looked at him. "Would you like some...Key Lime Pie? Tony?" she asked and stuck the pie on a stick in his face. He flapped his arms like was trying to wave off a swarm of wasps.

Ziva laughed. "You afraid of a cake? Tony?"

"No, of course not," he said, brushing his shirt down. "I hate Key Lime Pie. It's so...sour."

"Poor you have not had it the right way," she bit her bottom lip and looked at him wickedly.

Her eyes blended into the night beautifully, he thought, warm, dark and overflowing with mischief.

He was glad the mood had lightened over dinner, though this had not really surprised him. They'd had a lot of practice in flirty banter and fell into to it almost automatically now in times of mild or even severe irritation.

When she finished her pie, she poked Tony in the side with the stick and giggled. He couldn't help but laugh. Compared to only a couple of days ago she was a completely different person. Maybe the Florida heat had softened her. Literally.

"Maybe we should go back and get some ice cream. It did look delicious."

"You look delicious," he told her, and again she poked him with the stick, a little bit harder this time.

"Ouch, stop it. How much can you eat, anyway, David?"

"Tony!" She poked him again. "I am on vacation. When I am on vacation I like to eat and sleep and sit in the sun. Did you know that I love the sun?"

"And the sun loves you," he observed. How quick did she tan? He'd never seen anything like it, and felt the urge to touch her arm, but resisted.

"We have to go and watch the sunset tomorrow. It's the one must-do touristy thing. It's cheesy, but pretty. You'll hate it," he teased, and the stick struck again.

"Ouch. Stop hurting me."

"Poor Tony," she looked at him with fake sympathy, then took his hand and pulled him towards her suddenly, and he almost fell over, because he hadn't seen it coming. He'd been too afraid to try anything since they left the hotel, because he felt stupendously unsure of what was allowed. Not that anybody was paying them any attention, but that was beside the point.

She looked at him through those confusing eyes, but this time he knew she was going to kiss him. She opened her mouth and her tongue found his for a delicious battle.

"Do I taste of Key Lime Pie? Tony?"

"Yes," he replied hoarsely, missing her mouth on his already, his eyes shut tight.

"And you hate it? Yes?"

"No. Can I have seconds?"

She grabbed him by the neck and kissed him hard.

"Gosh, Ziva. All that sugar is giving me a head-rush."

"Sugar? Tony?" she laughed that wicked laugh again, and ran the pie stick down his shirt.

He stopped her by holding her wrist.

"I don't trust you with sharp objects, David. It makes me...nervous."

In one swift movement she had used the stick to tie up her hair.

Tony swallowed hard. Her neck was exposed, and right there, and he felt like a kid who was unexpectedly allowed his favourite toy. He kissed that tiny bit of soft skin just behind her ear...so far his very favourite part of her; although he could see the list getting longer and longer.

Man, was he doomed. He hoped sincerely that he'd have at least an ounce of sanity left by the time they got back to Washington. Fantasizing about all these things with two desks between them was one thing, but actually going there? And after having gone there, was there anyway back to not going there? Not having it? Not having her?

"I can't imagine ever being done with you," he whispered in her ear, an involuntary confession, his secrets on the tip of his tongue. He barely recognized himself.

"Well, you are going to have to call Gibbs then," she chuckled low in her throat. "Because I am not doing it."

He put his hands on her ass and pulled her closer. "Yeah, Boss, sorry, but Ziva and I are going to be a while. Months, in fact."

"If he knew, we would be dead," she stated, her eyes darkened, her gaze travelled into the future.

"If you think about it, this is kind of all his fault," Tony suggested. " He told us to fix it."

"I am not sure this is what he had in mind. Tony."

"I don't know," Tony wondered. Sometimes, often in fact, Tony just wasn't sure about the guy.

"I guess I better work fast, Ziva. In fact let's not leave the hotel again. Forget the sunset."

One hand pushed under her top and travelled up and down her back. She inhaled sharply, her pulse quickened, and he kissed her again for a long time.

When he finally broke away, he looked at her from as close up as possible without going cross-eyed.

"There is so much I want to do to you," he said quietly, and the silence that followed was shattering.

"You want to know a secret? Tony?" she spoke just above a whisper, but sounded clear and collected. It surprised him. It terrified him, but he nodded, because he was mesmerized by everything Ziva David.

"I want you to fuck me harder than you have ever fucked anyone in your life so that you remember me. Just me."


	7. Chapter 7

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

I feel like I owe you this one...

Thank you all for your interest and input, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. x

WS

Tony held her by the wrist and pulled her across the parking lot, through reception, up the stairs and along the corridor all the way to their room.

He didn't wait for the door to shut before he was all over her. He never switching on the lights.

He picked her up and sat her down on the desk. The complimentary pen went flying half way across the room, brochures, "Welcome to Key West; your quick guide" fell to the floor. Her top came off in half a second, her skirt hid nothing, and he felt bare legs wrap around him. Her kiss was poison, and he drank it greedily.

Her words bounced around his head, kept asking him again and again and again. Truth was, he would have done anything for her in that moment, and it took all of his self control not to tell her what she knew already.

He pulled that damn stick out of her hair, and buried his hands in her crazy curls as they fell down around her face like they wanted to hide their secret.

"My God, I want you," he whispered. Her hands were shaking when she took off his shirt way too slowly.

"You've got no idea how often I imagine this," he pulled her hair and her head fell back, exposing her neck. He licked it. She tasted of sun and sex and everything forbidden, and he was going out of his mind.

"I imagine it," she replied. "More often than I will admit."

"Ziva," he held her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes. "You ever think about me when you're with someone else?" He took a few laboured breaths waiting for her answer, his heart was beating out of his chest and he wondered if she could hear it.

She brought her hands to his face and held him the way he held her. Her eyes were dark, her proximity making him so, so dizzy.

"Yes. Tony," she admitted and he felt like someone had pulled the rug from under him.

"Damn you," he told her and kissed her hard.

He could feel her body respond, she was pushing herself up against him, pulling him down towards herself.

Her panties came off in one swift move, and before he knew what he was doing he was pushing into her. Her head hit the wall hard, and hit it again, but he didn't care; he wanted to break her.

"Talk to me, Ziva," he asked as he was fucking her.

"I hate you. Tony," she gasped. "Sometimes I wish I had never met you."

"You completely undo me," he said, unable to look at her any more.

"I want you to fuck me. Tony." It was the last thing he heard her say.

He would recall images of her on that desk, her skirt wrapped around her waist, her mouth open, gasping for air, eyes shut, cursing him over and over and over.

Much, much later, the world felt different, and when they went to bed, he wrapped his arms around her and she let him.

He was out like a light.


	8. Chapter 8

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Thank you all for your interest and input, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. X

This one's for...I don't know, all you crazy romantics out there, I suppose...

WS

Tony couldn't remember the last time he'd slept that well.

She was still in bed with him, beautiful, sparko. A quick glance at the time revealed that it was already 11 am. They had slept for ten hours?!

He gently stroked her cheek, because he couldn't help himself, couldn't resist, but she didn't even stir. He wondered when she got up and put on the oversized grey cotton t-shirt she was wearing. He must have been dead to the world.

He rolled onto his back and looked up at the white ceiling. This was so new, this was so exciting; and it scared the crap out of him. He was suddenly face to face with the beast that was ownership. He wanted her. In his life, in his bed. The thought that one day it shouldn't be him to be like this with her made him bilious with rage. And he couldn't imagine not wanting her.

"Tony," her soft voice caressed his thoughts, made him complete again, if only for the moment. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

It would have been so easy to just say it then, but instead, he pulled her sleepy body as close as he could, and kissed her. So many things had happened to them, between them, but who would have thought that this, waking up in the same bed, completely shaken by a passion-hangover, was the most disturbing event of all?

He tried to hold all of her as closely as possible. He stroked her naked arm, the only thing between them was her soft t-shirt, and he could quickly feel her reacting to his caress. He put his hand over her breast and pinched her nipple through the fabric. She moaned into his mouth, and already, he was losing it. He was so hard, it was embarrassing. He needed her to know what she was doing to him, shifted slightly an pushed his cock against her hip, all the while praying she wouldn't make a silly comment, because then he'd have no option but to fuck her hard as a punishment.

Over and over again, he ran his palm over her breasts through the t-shirt. He felt like he was fifteen again, doing something so totally forbidden that he wanted to jerk off to the sheer thought of it. It was ridiculous.

She was unbelievably hot; literally and metaphorically, his brain was starting to cloud over already.

He finally found the willpower to lift the shirt up and over her head, then took her panties off. With the implicitness of a long-time lover he got into her in one deliberate movement. Instant sensory overload. She was hot and wet and too much. Much too much, but he was in no hurry at all.

The moment she realized what he was doing, him taking his sweet time, she had a look of utter panic on her face.

She bucked up against him in one final attempt to speed things up now that they had decided they were going to have sex yet again, but Tony was having none of it.

Sorry, Miss David, This is not going to be a quick race to the finish line, he thought. I am going to make you beg for it this time. I am going to make you come so slowly that you are going to go out of your mind, and you are going to let me.

Their kisses were haunting, shattering, and despite her trying her hardest to turn this into something it was not, she finally surrendered. She closed her eyes and let him take over. Her neck was flushed, and he could see a thin layer of sweat building between her breasts. How am I going to ever walk away from this, he thought.

When he lifted her hips ever so slightly in order to thrust into her even deeper, she whimpered. He watched her grab the sheets so hard he could see the white of her knuckles. He took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked it gently, flicking his tongue over it. She tried to make him stop, to wriggle away, but he pinned her down with all his weight.

She started breathing heavily, started making those noises that were most likely going to haunt his dreams forever.

"Tony," she winced, and he almost lost all self-control for a moment, but he kept kissing her, touching her, teasing her, fucking her slowly, so slowly, until she sounded like she wanted to cry.

"God, stop, don't stop, stop, God, Tony," she said, and he ended up having to put his hand over her mouth.

"Sshhh, Ziva."

She clumsily grabbed a pillow and put it over her face, moments later, throwing it off of her again. He felt her body change, her muscles tense, and he knew she was going to come even before she told him.

"Say my name," he demanded, and he didn't know if it was his final thrust, or his breath so close to her ear that sent her over the edge finally.

"Tony, oh my God, Tony," she babbled and fell apart completely in his arms. He didn't need another second, and exploded inside her.

Then, he couldn't keep his eyes open.

When he finally snapped out of it, he didn't know if it had been minutes or hours, but Ziva was lying on her side of the bed regarding him.

He touched her face and smiled, but she did not.

"You know, Ziva, your eyes are sometimes so big they look like they want to roll out of your head."

"You are funny, Tony," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, and it put a spell on him.

"What I mean is," he tried again, "You've got beautiful eyes."

She smiled. "I want to go for a swim. Do you want to go for a swim? Tony?"

He shook his head to shake himself out of the afterglow induced trance she was clearly no longer in.

"Jeez, Ziva, give me a minute to get over you," he rolled on to his back, because he couldn't look at her. "How can you be so cool about this?" he asked; a meaningless comment, nothing more, but the temperature went icy. He felt it, and he didn't even have to see the look in her eyes.

"Cool? Tony?" It sounded so cold, so full of venom.

"You think that? You think that I am "cool" with this?" She asked him again and sat up, ready to confront him.

"Oh come on, Ziva, I didn't mean it like..."

"No? Then how did you mean it? What makes you think that I am cool about this? Are you really the most ignorant man alive?" she asked him, raising her voice at an alarming rate. He pulled a sheet across his midriff.

"Ziva, come on, I didn't mean..."

"No, Tony," she shut him up. "You think that I am cool with the way you are treating me? The way you are treating us?" she asked, not waiting for his reply. "You think I am cool with the fact that you are completely willing to sleep with any woman but me, and not only that, but to tell me about it?"

He sat up. "Hey, be fair. I am sleeping with you, and you're sleeping with other people, too, so get off your high horse," he told her, and her eyes were firing daggers at him.

"Other people? Tony? And how would you know? At least I have the decency to keep it private."

"Secrets, Ziva," he threw at her. "I hate that you have secrets. Sometimes knowing stuff is better than making shit up in your head. And I've been making shit up in my head for years, and it's driving me crazy."

"No Tony. You are wrong," she told him, her voice way past angry. "Secrets are better than what you are doing. You think it is funny to me? To know what you are doing and when and with whom? Well let me tell you, I hate it. And I hate you bragging about it, I hate it, it makes me want to scream," she shouted, her hands making wild gestures.

"And then, when I finally let you be, you invite me here with you, and...and...and what happened yesterday, and last night, that is one thing, Tony. But now, you...you...you make love to me like...like...that, and you think I am cool?" He felt her words flying at him, felt their impact.

"Ziva, stop it, I'm sorry," he demanded, and tried to calm her by reaching for her arm. She flinched and pulled it away, out of his reach.

She cleared her throat and swallowed hard. "Cool? Tony? You have to be completely out of your mind to think that I am cool."

He shook his head, reached for her again, tried to get her by the waist and pull her close, but she fought him.

"Ziva, stop it," he struggled on to get a good grip on her, but she moved away. He unexpectedly got hold of her wrist for a moment, and when he tried to force her to come to him, before he knew what was happening, she had punched him square in the face.

The blow came so suddenly, Tony fell onto the bed like a sack of potatoes. He groaned, but she said nothing.

Unsure of what the hell had just happened, he watched her in pain through one eye as she put on her bikini.

"I am not cool with this. Tony," she said quietly, "But I love it." She had the doorknob in her hand already, and just before she disappeared into the sunny Florida afternoon she turned to him one more time. "You said you are tired of pretending. So do not pretend, and tell me. Just tell me, Tony. I need to hear you say it."


	9. Chapter 9

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Cast your minds back to a conversation they had in "Shell Shock (Part II)". I totally think I am being clever here, but it's not really relevant.

Thank you all for your interest and input, it means a lot, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. X

WS

An hour after having received the very painful blow to his face, she still hadn't returned. His eye was throbbing, and the sheets felt cold against it. They smelled of her and of sex, and only very reluctantly did he finally drag himself away and into the bathroom to have a closer look at the damage.

"Ouch," he told his reflection. She had done an awesome job. He looked like he'd been in a bar fight, and he suspected the eye was neither done swelling nor discolouring.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked and shook his head at himself? You had this one coming, DiNozzo, just fucking tell her.

He got dressed and decided to go looking for her; and the ice machine.

It was hot outside, so hot he wasn't surprised to find only a few people sitting by the pool, and in the shade for that matter.

She was the only one in the water, swimming laps like a woman possessed. He wondered if she'd been doing it ever since she walked out.

He took off his shirt and slid into the shallow end, making sure he was in her way.

She stood with her feet on the bottom and looked at him through chlorine-red eyes. She was the sexiest thing ever.

She brushed hair and water off her face and he watched her eyes focus on his injury. The face she pulled, involuntarily, he suspected, suggested she was embarrassed? Sorry? He couldn't place it.

"Got any aspirin in that big suitcase of yours?" he asked. "Or an eye patch? And FYI, Agent David, you are going to take full responsibility for this and tell Gibbs why I look like I've been headbutted by someone twice my size."

He watched the corners of her mouth twitch ever so slightly.

"I can not believe you are laughing."

She bit her lip, then put her hand over her mouth, but she couldn't hide it in her eyes. Tony leapt forward, knocked her off balance and pushed her head under the water. He held her there until he felt she had learned her lesson. She gasped for air and coughed violently. He was contemplating kissing her, but instead pushed her under again. She struggled, and he pulled her back above the surface by her hair. This time she coughed all over him.

"Euw," he complained, then wiped his face.

She coughed again, and he finally took mercy and patted her on the back hard to help. She took a few deep breaths before being shaken by a violent hickup. They looked at each other for a split second before falling apart laughing.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and kept hickupping through what Tony reckoned could have been a rather tender moment.

"You know, Ziv-ah," he whispered in her ear. "I knew you were totally crazy the very first moment I met you."

"Whatever. Tony," she said, being interrupted by yet another hickup. "If I am crazy now, and I understand why you might think this, it is only because I met you. I was quite sane before you."

"You were as crazy then as you are now," he ensured her and kissed his favourite bit just behind her ear. She moved closer into his embrace. Her body felt hot and cold all at the same time in the water, and her skin looked like it was dipped in gold.

"I should not have punched you," she declared and hickupped again, her little body bouncing up and down.

"You know, you're really cute when you've got the hickups," he informed her. "But I can't have a conversation with you, it's too distracting. I could have sworn you were just about to apologize to me then?"

She looked at him, her dark eyes looked like liquid caramel in the early afternoon sun.

"Never apologize," they said simultaneously. She giggled and put her head on his shoulder, tightening her legs around him even more.

"It is not right to punch the man who has just given you the most fantastic orgasm," she mumbled absent-mindedly, but he had heard her and wasn't going to let that one go.

"Most fantastic, Ziv-ah?"

She lifted her head up again and looked him in the eyes. "Did I just say that?"

"I believe you did, but don't worry, I'm not expecting you to tell Gibbs that your...most fantastic orgasm, care of yours truly resulted in me ending up with a black eye," he told her, and it made her laugh so much people started turning around.

Tony couldn't stop shaking his head at her. Where had this woman come from, he wondered and gently, ever so gently he brushed a wet strand of hair out of her face, caressed her cheek. He could see the laughter still in her eyes, and it made his knees weak.

"You know, Ziva, I can't decide right now what I like better, making you laugh or making you come."

She blushed furiously, and he looked at her with such intention, he could have sworn for a moment that she had stopped breathing. He also noticed that her hickups had miraculously disappeared.

"If you had to chose, Ziv-ah, what would you go for?"

"Laughter. Tony. I want someone who makes me laugh," she said after a short moment of hesitation, then put her lips so close to his ear, he got goosebumps all over. "Because FYI, Agent DiNozzo, I can always make myself come."

Tony couldn't help a laugh or a yelp, or whatever the hell it was that escaped his mouth then. "My God, Ziva, you've got no idea how much I would pay to see that."

"Oh really?" she asked and licked her lips. "If I let you watch, Tony...will you forgive me for the black eye?"

"What black eye?" he whispered and felt her right hand travel down, down, between her legs.


	10. Chapter 10

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

"I am driven by a greater force than I can resist..." -Sebastian Faulks

Thank you all for your interest and input, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. X

WS

"You're really going to do it here, aren't ya?" he asked, though he knew the answer. He cleared his throat and quickly scanned the vicinity to see if anybody was paying them any attention, but the few people nearby were either reading or sleeping, and definitely not even within immediate earshot.

He held her and tried to get his head around what he was about to witness.

Her hand was moving in slow circles. How was he going to get through this?

"Do you think about me when you do this?"

"Yes," she breathed into his ear, and felt himself physically shaking with wanting her. Again.

His cock was already hard, and getting in the way, but what was he gonna do about it when she was running the show?

"And what do you think about? Ziva." He loved saying her name.

"I think about you just showing up when I am in bed already, and I am naked, and you would not say anything, just go down on me and I have my fingers in your hair, and..." she couldn't continue, had to catch her breath. He felt her body radiating such heat, his throat dry, wondering if it was at all remotely possible he was not going to come in the next three seconds and completely embarrass himself.

"Tony," she whimpered, her hard nipples through the fabric of the wet Lycra killing him, killing him. He felt short of breath, wondering if he was having a heart attack.

"So you wouldn't kill me if I decided to break in one night?"

"You have a key. Use it."

"Is that an invitation?"

"Yessss," she bit his ear and continued breathlessly, "And then I want to fuck you. I want to be on top of you and just fuck you, and I imagine the look on your face when I make you come."

"You're killing me," he whispered in her hair and tried to put his hand where hers was, but she wouldn't let him.

"I need to touch you," he begged, and she brought her head in line to look at him.

"You wanted to watch. So watch."

"Please, let's just go to the room and let me fuck you," he begged her. Maybe he was getting sun stroke, his face felt like it was about to burn off.

"Watch me," she told him again and he could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest...or could he hear his own?

Her breaths came more laboured now, and he could feel the change in her body that made him want to drive into her like a madman. God, what he wouldn't give to finish her off himself. He didn't even care where they were any more, he would have fucked her in broad daylight. Explain that to the boss, he thought, but he didn't give a damn, he wanted to get in her and turn her inside out until he knew all her secrets, had learned all her fantasies until nothing remained but them.

She kissed him deeply, and that did it. "Tony. I am going to come," she announced and pulled herself so close to him, buried her face his shoulders, but he protested.

"Look at me, Ziva. I want you to look at me."

She pressed her forehead against his, and he couldn't see her at all, but it didn't matter. Her body shook violently, and the sexiest thing he'd ever seen was her struggling not to make a noise, then trying to steady her breath. Her nails dug into his shoulder so much he had to stifle a groan.

"Fuck," she whispered and kissed him hard once she had resurfaced on his side of reality.

"Ziva..."

She chuckled. "Was it good for you? Tony?"

"Well, let's just say I'm going to need to cover up or stay in this pool forever."

She laughed lightly, pushed herself up onto the edge and got out.

"Here," she threw him her towel.

He held it in front of himself all the way back to the room.

Her skin was still wet, and water dripped from her hair onto the floor where she stood in the middle of the room. She took off her bikini and threw it in the direction of the bathroom. It fell to the floor with a quiet thud.

"Get naked. Tony." It sounded a million miles away from a question, and he complied, then took her in his arms and kissed her. Her hair felt cool, but the heat of the sun was all over her, still. She shoved him towards the bed and he gladly took the hint.

"Let me do you now. Tony," she smiled wickedly and climbed on top of him. "Or does this still...intimidate you?" she asked him with the sweetest smile on her face, and gently guided his cock inside of her.

"I was not intimidated," he protested briefly, just so he had said it.

"You were intimidated."

Too slowly she started moving, and he was about to crawl out of his skin.

"Please just fuck me, Ziva, damn just...come on."

"Poor Tony. Having to beg for it now."

"I don't beg."

"Then you will learn," she said and continued her ridiculous torture. He had double vision now, and the room started spinning.

She leant down and kissed his mouth, her tongue fighting his until he couldn't stand it any more. She kissed his neck, his chest and lead his hand to touch her breast.

"Ziva, God, come on. Fuck me." He couldn't even recognize his own voice any more. What was happening to him?

"Begging yet? Tony?" she asked again, and he crumbled.

"Please, God, please. Fuck me."

And she did. Hard and hard and hard until he gave it up.

His head started clearing only slowly. She had her head on his chest and he wondered if she was asleep. He shifted to look at her, and she winked at him. She looked so young and gorgeous, his heart skipped a beat or two.

"You're good. Anyone ever tell you that?" he asked her and she laughed and gave him a gently kiss on the cheek.

"You could subscribe to it if you wanted, Tony," she said, a throw away comment that lay between them for longer than intended.

"I am going to have a shower," she quickly said, and he knew she was doing it in an attempt to get the metaphorical elephant out of the room.

"Ziva," he started, but couldn't say it.

She picked the towel off the floor and wrapped it around herself.

When she reached the door to the bathroom she stopped. "Tony." She turned back to him.

"I want you to understand that I...I usually do not give myself to anybody that...shamelessly. And what happened this morning...I was not angry with you. It is not your fault. I am angry with myself, because I can not help the way that I feel. About you." She leant against the door frame, met his eyes briefly, but then looked anywhere but at him. "The thing is, I did not plan this, I did not even want it, but I let it happen."

He nodded, because he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I can not forget you, mostly because I just can not, but because you are there every day. And at times I do not recognize myself, and I am afraid, because I am not normally like that. Ever, in fact. I have never been like that. Like this."

"Ziva. I know," he said, begging for her to meet his eyes, and when she did he simply added, "And I know because I'm in love with you, too."

Her eyes caught fire and he would forever remember that moment that seemed to stop time for them to rewind and hear it again and comprehend as the moment when she stopped resisting and became his.

When she finally moved, it was only to pull the towel tighter around herself.

She smiled. "Boom," she said quietly, and he listened carefully at the silence that followed, wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"Boom what?"

"That is my point. Boom nothing, Tony. You said it. And the world did not end."

"How about that?" he asked and looked her up and down. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid his eyes on. And he was in love with her. Boom.


	11. Chapter 11

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

Thank you all for your interest and input, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. X

WS

Tony woke up because he had a bizarre feeling creeping into his subconscious that he was being watched. He also felt severe disorientation. For a moment he thought he was at home; in his childhood bedroom. It was only after he had focused his eyes properly that the pieces of the puzzle came together.

Ziva was lying next to him on the bed, watching him with those big brown eyes.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"What time is it?"

"16:30."

"Wow, sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that."

"You are tired."

"Yes, well, certain confessions seemed to have taken it out of me," he smiled. "Or maybe I have severe head trauma from your punch," he quickly added and touched his eye to see it was still there.

"I believe I still owe you my...confession," she said quietly.

"Careful, Ziva, that might knock me out for good," he joked, but she didn't laugh, she simply smiled, and then her eyes spoke first, but didn't they always?

"I am in love with you, Tony," she stated, stopping suddenly, and he wondered if she was already wishing she could take it back. "I feel like I am going crazy."

"Ah, Ziva. It's not love if it's not crazy," he told her.

"What movie is that from?"

"That's from the Anthony DiNozzo Junior school of crazy love."

"You have a lot of experience with this? Tony?" she asked, and he wondered if it was at all possible Ziva David was in the process of fishing for compliments.

"I can confirm, Ziv-ah, that I have never felt this crazy."

She laughed. "So now what do we do?"

"Now, since we have discussed all necessary...formalities of our...relationship, I believe we should go out and have dinner and see what might happen."

She looked at him through half-closed eyes, like she was trying to zoom in on what was going on in his head.

"Sunset is at 19:00," she told him, and he laughed.

"You know, sweet-cheeks, the thing I love about you the most is your efficiency."

She playfully slapped his arm. "Whatever. Tony."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm a dirty liar, it's your cute ass."

"Tony!"

"Come on, you love it," he laughed and rolled over to grab her and hold her. Her hair smelled freshly washed and she was warm and soft and his. He kissed her naked shoulder. "I can still taste the sun on your skin," he told her for the second time in as many days. It meant nothing. And it meant everything.

x x x

After dinner and attending the traditional sunset celebration in Mallory Square, Tony and Ziva strolled through the old town.

"You know, Tony, this place is a tourist trap," she observed after they had passed the tenth t-shirt and shell necklace shop.

He laughed and took her hand. "But it's great. I think this is one of the most exciting towns in the whole of the US."

"Nothing happens. Tony. Tourists come, they eat Key Lime Pie, they leave."

"Ah, and that's where you're wrong. You have to look underneath the façade. It's the end of the line down here. Cuba is closer than Miami. Every person who comes here has a story about what brought them here," Tony told her.

"What is your story?"

"Haha. You."

She chuckled and swung his arm back and forth. "Tell it," she asked of him.

"Okay," Tony cleared his throat like he wanted to burst into song. "Once upon a time I met this crazy, crazy woman. She had crazy, crazy hair, and was just real crazy. God, Ziva, you'd hate her. Real serious type, too, you know. And she was dangerous. Full time ninja. And no matter how funny my jokes were, and my jokes are pretty damn funny, she never laughed, never smiled. She hated me."

"She did not hate you. Tony," Ziva laughed.

"Shut up, it's my story," he elbowed her gently.

"Okay, go on. So, she hated you."

"Yes, she did until this one day when we were sent on a very special very secret mission."

"Oh?" Ziva's eyes lit up.

"She had this crazy idea, you know with her being crazy and all, that we should really get into it, and next thing I knew her dress came off, and she was all over me, wearing nothing but a pair of sexy heels."

"That is NOT what happened," she laughed.

"It is EXACTLY what happened, but anyway, one thing lead to another, and I must have left such an impression on her that she never looked at me the same again." He took a deep breath, a dramatic pause. "But then she went back to hating me. Personally, I think she was afraid of her love for me, she's crazy like that, you know."

"You keep telling yourself that. Tony," she chuckled. "And then what happened."

"Then things got out of hand, and before I knew what I was doing I'd ask her to come to Key West with me where I ended up giving her... her greatest orgasm ever...and to thank me, she punched me in the face."

By this time in the story Ziva was laughing so hard, he feared they would have a repeat episode of her hickups.

"Poor Tony," she finally said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I know, poor me. And that's my story."

"And how is is going to end? Tony?" she asked through those beautiful eyes.

"Well, let's just say that really, there is only one acceptable ending, but before that I fear there might be more pain and suffering," he contemplated in a dramatic voice that made her laugh again.

They had reached the side entrance to Sloppy Joe's and Tony skilfully walked her out of the way of people traffic and backed her up against a wall.

"See this eye?" he asked her and pointed to his good eye. She nodded. "My boss is probably going to punch me right here. He's a very strict man. Lots of rules."

She pulled a pained face. "Tony..." she started, but he put his finger over her lips. "But! It doesn't matter. Because I got the girl."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

"And now let me buy you a drink at Ernest Hemingway's favorite bar. I know it's not his house, but it's...historical." He took her hand again and walked her towards the open door. "Oh, one thing: since you're a foreigner, what you're about to see might be a bit strange, and my word of advice is not to take anything too seriously."

He could see question marks in her eyeballs, but he figured it was like getting into cold water; best jump straight in.

The place was as busy as he remembered it. A band was on stage, the bar was packed and it was loud. Tony took a deep breath. "Ahhhh, Key West. This is what it's all about."

They got drinks and found a place to sit. It was still early for Sloppy Joe's, and the crowd wasn't yet going completely wild.

Tony watched Ziva with amusement as she was pulling all sorts of faces; everything from bewilderment to disbelief, listening to the band singing one offensive song after the other.

"Americans are...weird," she quickly concluded, and he could have kissed her pretty mouth, but laughed instead, and got another round from the bar.

One or two drinks too many later, they eventually decided to call it a night. The room was spinning slightly as he lead her towards the exit.

"I think we should have a little dance first," he suggested eagerly.

"Tony. I do not dance."

"Only because you hate having fun," he teased, hoping it might change her mind.

"I do not hate having fun, but dancing is not fun. Not every girl likes to dance."

"Come on, just this once. It'll be over before you know it. And listen, it's our song."

"Tony. We do not have a song."

"This can be it," he suggested, and earned himself another friendly, or maybe not so friendly, slap on the arm.

"This?" she asked and pointed to the band. "This is nobody's song. Tony."

He couldn't help himself, he had to pull her into his arms and make her stand there like they were dancing. In the end she offered surprisingly little resistance.

"It's a Jimmy Buffett song, Ziva. So fitting." He watched her make out the words, and waited for her reaction. She only got it when most of the crowd joined into the chorus: "Why don't we get drunk and screw?" she repeated. "Tony," she laughed, and looked outraged, which was cute to him. "It is an awful song, and really, Tony, this is nobody's song."

"It's Key West, sweet-cheeks, it's everybody's song," he said and danced her to the exit.

They didn't make it back to the hotel without stopping for Ziva to get the biggest portion of take-away ice cream he'd ever seen. It took her ten minutes to decide what flavors she wanted, too, and all he could think about was her out of her dress, and how her indecisiveness wasn't exactly helping him achieve his goal fast enough.

Finally, finally, they got to their room.

"I have to say, Tony, the food here is so good. Everything I have had has been delicious," she said and put another big spoon-full in her mouth. Tony fumbled with the key card. "You're delicious," he told her yet again.

"Are you going to keep saying that?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything at the moment," he fiddled with the mechanism, but the door wouldn't budge. "All I know is that your dress is coming off. As soon as I get this door to open." And if it was the last thing I'm going to do, he thought, and contemplated just kicking it. Finally, the lock snapped open, and he almost flew into the room. Ziva smirked and ate some more ice cream.

"So now what? Tony?" she asked him. He closed the distance between them and didn't wait to kiss her on the mouth. Hard. She tasted of vanilla ice cream and the sensation of hot and cold made him feel like he had popping candy in his brain.

"Bed. Now," he told her.

"But I am still eating this," she protested.

"You're done," he decided and took the cup out of her hands.

Ziva got onto the bed and sat there. Her dress was a total mindfuck. Whitest white against her golden skin, short, and sweet. As misleading as her innocent smile.

"You want to know a secret, Tony?" she asked and played with her hair.

"You're not real?" he guessed. Please, don't let that be it, he thought.

"I am not wearing any underwear," she said frankly. This revelation caught him mid ice cream intake, and he almost chocked.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I lie about that?" she shrugged.

"Why indeed, Miss David," he sat on the edge of the bed and slowly ran his hand up her calf, her knee, her thigh, and up.

"Damn you," he whispered, and she smiled wickedly.

He pushed up her dress so he could spread her legs. He could see in her eyes, that she had already worked out what he was about to do, and he couldn't wait another moment. He took another big spoon full of ice cream into his mouth, and without much of an overture, he went down on her.

"Fuck," was the only thing she said, and her body was on fire. Her hands were on his head, in his hair, and he couldn't get enough of her. He wanted nothing but to sink into her, to possess her, to have her die in his arms over and over again until nothing remained but her taste on his lips.

"Tony, please fuck me, I want you to fuck me," she told him when she couldn't take any more, and he wasn't strong enough to not grant her this. His clothes came off in seconds, and he was on her. He thrust into her, but it was apparent that she was too worked up to just lie there and take it, and before he knew it, she was on top of him, fucking him so hard he knew he wasn't going to last another minute. Luckily neither did she, and so he simply let go, too.

Afterwards, he wouldn't let her get away, but held onto her tight. He already felt like he was drifting off.

"Ziva," he asked her quietly, his voice heavy with sleep.

"What?"

"In your fantasy when I come over and we do what we just did..."

"What about it?"

"Do I ever spend the night?"

"Always," she told him, and it was everything he needed to know.


	12. Chapter 12

Rating M for language and content

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended; these characters belong to NCIS, I own nothing.

Pairing: Ziva D./ Tony D.

This is it, you guys, the final chapter. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed their little adventure, and that there was fun stuff for all of you in here. If you like, tell me what kind of a story you'd like next...

Thank you all for your interest and input, and most importantly, thank you so much for reading, and I really hope you love the choices I made here. X

"Take me now, baby, here as I am..." -Patti Smith

WS

The most disturbing thing about the concept of time was that it appeared to pass at an accelerated rate the happier you were.

From the moment he woke up until the moment they watched not the sun set on Mallory Square, but the night approach at Smathers Beach, he wanted nothing more than to rewind and start again. Do it all again, have it all again, and unchanged. Everything. Every moment. Every breath, every touch, every kiss, every smile on her lips. The sun on her skin, the light in her eyes, and the hours in the dark they spent exploring, discovering. Revelations.

He wished to have another day, another week, another month with her. Just them. Exploring the island, having delicious local food, sitting in the sun, swimming. Kisses. Sex. He was a million miles from the beginning and the end of her, of them, and the thought of returning to Washington hung like a dark and heavy storm cloud between them; and it was growing darker and heavier by the hour.

"What time is our flight tomorrow? Tony?" she finally voiced it. He watched her as she gathered items of clothing from around the room and placed them neatly near her open suitcase.

"9:15," he told her.

She nodded her understanding, opened their personal safe and took out her gun, and immediately he watched her change into work mode.

He walked over to her and took the gun out of her hand, placed it back in the safe and locked it.

"Not yet, Ziva. Please," he said and she looked away.

"Let's watch the sunset," he suggested quietly, drinking in her beautiful features. Her dark hair an unexplored ocean, dark and mysterious, and he was willing to risk it all, dive straight in and lose himself.

"Tony. Let us go somewhere, but just us."

He nodded okay, and couldn't shake that awful feeling of goodbye.

They walked hand in hand all the way to Smathers Beach on the Atlantic side of the island. The sun and pretty much every other tourist was behind them.

He wondered if they'd ever come back here, and he wondered if he could ever think about this place and not think about her.

Ziva walked in the water with her shoes off, the warm evening breeze played with her hair and she continuously brushed it out of her face. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid hi eyes on.

They sat down on the sand and watched the night roll in from the east.

"Have you ever done it on a beach? Tony?" she asked him in a low, sexy voice once the darkness had enveloped them completely. He could have sworn they were the only two people in the whole entire universe.

"Can't say that I have, Miss David. I'm a good boy. I wouldn't risk getting arrested for something so...frivolous," he told her and she slapped his arm.

"Frivolous. What a word," she giggled. "I think, Tony," she whispered and stuck her tongue in his ear which made him shiver, "that you should get in me and see what happens. After all, it is our last night here."

"Ziva, if you want a farewell fuck I'm not doing it," he told her frankly, and it sounded a bit harsh, even to him.

"I do not want you to fuck me, Tony. I want you to make love to me like you mean it," she told him, and he sincerely hoped something got lost in translation.

"I've always meant it, Ziva. Always. You've just been too stubborn to see that."

He watched her struggling to find words, maybe to take back what she had so harshly implied.

"I am not stubborn. I am scared."

"What the hell of? Ziva? Trust me. Why can't you just trust me? What else can I do to make you get it? Look, we don't ever have to go back to Washington at all. We'll throw our guns and badges in the Gulf, or the Atlantic, take your pick, and we sail to Cuba and live happily ever after. I don't care. Right now I really don't care. I just want to be with you. I want this to be an exclusive deal. Because I feel like going out of my mind when I think that there are going to be other people again. I want you to be mine and no one else's," he told her, and she took his face in her hands.

"Tony. I have been yours for longer than you could possibly imagine," she said and the night was so dark in her eyes, he was losing himself. "And I love you," she added so quietly, he thought he had imagined it for a moment. He kissed her hot mouth and she melted into his embrace.

"Ziva. I'm going to take your panties off and sleep with you. Right now," he told her when he couldn't take her sex kisses any longer.

"I want you so much you have no idea, Tony," she breathed and started opening buttons on his shirt. Her skirt was already around her waist when the last one came undone and her beautifully hands touched his chest, his shoulders, his arms.

"Sorry about the sand," he laughed into her ear lightly.

"I do not care," she whispered and took his cock in her hands. He couldn't held a low groan. She stroked him skilfully, and watched him closely as she was doing so.

"God, Ziva, I...you...," he mumbled nonsense as she continued her caress.

"Get in me, Tony," she finally demanded, and wrapped her legs around him. He didn't know if he was coming or going. It was too much for him. Everything. Her, the smell of her hair, the way he felt inside of her, the taste of the sun on her skin.

"My God, Ziva. I want to do this with you forever. You drive me completely out of my mind."

"Kiss me," she asked again, and he did. He kissed her harder than he'd ever kissed anybody in all his life, and held her closer than he'd ever held anybody in his life, and when she came in his arms and whispered his name, he promised himself that he would make this happen. This. Them. Come hell or high water.

x x x

The next morning Ziva didn't talk much, and Tony had a fairly good idea of what was going on in her head.

There were no more questions, and therefore he had no more answers, and the only secret that remained was the one they shared.

Once they had taken their seats on the plane, she picked up a magazine and ignored his presence.

He watched her almost all the way to Miami. In the end, he removed the magazine and put it down in his lap.

He took her hand and waited until he had her reluctant but undivided attention.

"Ziva. I need to know one thing before we get back."

She looked at him with the question of what in her caramel eyes.

"I need to know if you're in or if you're out."

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Because if you're in, I will go straight to him and tell him," Tony told her, and there was no doubt about the extend and the truth of his statement.

She didn't reply, just sat there looking at the back of the headrest of the seat in front of her.

"You remember the story you told me? Your Key West story? About the crazy girl with the crazy hair?" she asked, and he wondered what that had to do with anything, but he nodded.

"What happens to her? In the story, I mean. What happens after Key West?"

"Well, Ziva," he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It's simple, really, and not very interesting, but if you want I'll tell you."

She nodded, and he kissed her hand again.

"Eventually she said 'I do', and they lived happily ever after."

He watched her blush furiously, fireworks in her eyes, and she squeezes his hand so hard that her arm was shaking.

"Then I am in," she promised. Just like that. Boom!

x x x

Tony sat in his car for a good twenty minutes before he plucked up the courage to walk over to the house.

As usual the front door was open, and he knew to walk straight in.

"Gibbs?" he croacked, and cleared his throat. "Gibbs? Boss?" he tried again, and when there was no answer, he made his way to the basement.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, and Tony wondered if he'd been expecting him. But then again, how was that even possible?

"Hi Boss, yeah, I've come to...ehm, I need to borrow a plunger," he said and wished for nothing more but a slap, but Gibbs left him hanging this time. He just looked at him.

"You okay? DiNozzo? Got in a fight or something?"

Tony's hand went to his black eye.

"Yes, I mean no, Boss. Sort of," he mumbled, and watched Gibbs pace over to the workbench and poor two drinks.

Then he disappeared, which was confusing, and Tony wondered if he'd gone to bed or something, and what he was supposed to do alone in the basement now. He sat down and hit his forehead against the work bench. This wasn't easy.

A few minutes later, Gibbs reappeared, and passed him a plunger. Tony took it.

"Thanks, Boss," he said quietly. "I didn't really come here to get..."

"I know that, DiNozzo. You think I'm stupid or something?"

Tony said nothing.

Gibbs pulled up another stool and sat down.

"You go somewhere nice?" Gibbs asked.

"Key West."

"Hmm," Gibbs answered, and Tony wasn't sure if this was a noise of approval or not.

"Ziva go with you?"

Tony nodded. His brain had run out of thoughts.

"She punch you?"

"Yeah, funny story, Boss," Tony started, trying to make up something amusing, anything that wasn't the truth, but luckily Gibbs cut him off. "You fallen in love with her. DiNozzo."

It wasn't a question.

He could feel eyes burning into the side of his head, then saw Gibbs down his drink out of the corner of his eyes.

They sat in exhausting silence for an eternity. Tony's head was spinning.

"You gonna snap out of it?" Gibbs finally asked.

"Not likely, Boss, no," he confessed.

Gibbs got up, filled his glass and downed it again, then topped up the drink Tony hadn't touched.

He turned away and walked towards the stairs.

"Alright. We'll deal with it. DiNozzo," he said. "Now get out of here."

Tony picked up his things and was out of the house three seconds later.

Only once he got into the car did he realize he had actually taken the plunger.

"You've completely lost it, DiNozzo," he told himself and lay his head onto the steering wheel. His heart was still pounding, his hands shaking, and he was just about to turn his keys in the ignition and get going when his phone vibrated in his pocket to let him know that he had a text message.

It was from Ziva.

"I can still taste the sun on your skin x"


End file.
